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As the Senators took the ice Monday for their last informal skate before training camp opens with medicals Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre, the veteran winger arrived in town and declared he was 100%.

Heading into the final year of his contract, Michalek, 28, opted not to have surgery in the off-season on his injured knee and instead spent a week in Germany getting blood serum therapy that’s mostly been used by NBA players.

Michalek told reporters he has been skating for the last month, has full mobility in his knee and is feeling good.

“I’ve been able to work out and it’s been good up to now. I’m 100% and ready to go,” said Michalek.

If Michalek had elected to have surgery on the knee that allowed him to play only 23 games last season, he would have been out 4-to-6 months. Instead, he used what’s called a “biologic” treatment by Dr. Peter Wehling.

The therapy is an option for those who don’t want surgery and Wehling claims a 90% success rate.

“It was good. I went there right after the season so it helped me out right away,” said Michalek. “Since then I’ve been progressing every day and it feels good. I’m 100%.

“I was there a week. It started to get better every week and it’s been progressing until it became good. I feel good. I can workout, skate and do everything.”

Michalek has been skating for the last month.

He spent part of August in Montreal training with other pros — including former Ottawa winger Martin Havlat — at a conditioning camp held by Octagon Hockey, the agency that represents Michalek.

“I skated really hard this summer,” said Michalek. “If I had surgery it was going to be a long (recovery) so I wanted to go this way and hopefully it’s going to be good.

“I’ve been in the gym a lot.”

He understands that heading towards unrestricted free agency next summer this is a big year for him.

“I’m trying not to put much pressure on myself,” he said. “I just want the team to do well and I want to play well. If the team does well, then I’m going to do well. I want to stay healthy and hopefully we’re going to do well this year.”

The big question is: Where will coach Paul MacLean use Michalek this season? He normally plays with centre Jason Spezza, and with the arrival of winger Bobby Ryan from Anaheim, they could be a pretty potent trio.

“I haven’t talked to Paul yet. We’ll see how it goes in training camp. For sure it would be nice to play with these two. They are great players. It would be fun,” said Michalek.

GREENING SIGNS EXTENSION: The Senators signed LW Colin Greening to a three-year extension Monday that will kick in next year with a $2.65 million cap hit that will run through the 2016-17 campaign. Greening will make $816,000 this season which means he will be in for a healthy raise. The Senators are convinced he can compete for a top six forward spot in camp. “He’s a solid player,” said GM Bryan Murray. “Going into unrestricted free agency, having an opportunity to extend him for three years, gives him a chance to be a settled and permanent player on this roster. It gives us a good, young player who can play a variety of roles on this team.”

OFF THE GLASS: Spezza and Ryan have been trying to get familiar by skating together during the informal skates in Kanata the last couple of weeks. “It felt good,” said Spezza. “We’re trying to talk as a little as possible about playing right now and just kind of feeling each other out. We’ll start talking more X and Os stuff when we get into games. It’s more important to just naturally come and not force things too much. There’s been a lot of talk about us playing together and I think it’s important that we don’t force it. Just kind of learn what each other likes to do and see if it works.” ... Spezza is back from New York where he took part in the NHL’s Media Tour last week. Among the highlights was a trip to the U.S. Open and a Yankees’ game, but he also got to ring the bell with six players to open the New York Stock Exchange. “It was an interesting experience,” said Spezza.

AROUND THE BOARDS: Before they hit the ice for camp, the players will be on the golf course in Manotick Tuesday at the Rideau View layout for the Bell/Senators Charity Golf Classic. The event has raised more than $1.4 million for local charities in the last 20 years. PGA Tour player Brad Fritsch, a Rideau View member who is sponsored by the Senators, will be among those on hand for the event ... Ottawa G Craig Anderson was at EB Games in Kanata Monday night for the launch of the EA Sports NHL 14. While New Jersey G Martin Brodeur is on the cover, Anderson was among players across Canada who participated in local launches of the product that went on sale at midnight.

Ottawa Senators' Milan Michalek declares himself fit

As the Senators took the ice Monday for their last informal skate before training camp opens with medicals Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre, the veteran winger arrived in town and declared he was 100%.

Heading into the final year of his contract, Michalek, 28, opted not to have surgery in the off-season on his injured knee and instead spent a week in Germany getting blood serum therapy that’s mostly been used by NBA players.

Michalek told reporters he has been skating for the last month, has full mobility in his knee and is feeling good.